Benjamin Franklin once said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”
Earlier this month, I wrote about the public school mill levy in Great Falls (MT) with a column titled, “$1.01 a Month.” If the voters approved the levy, it would cost about a dollar and a penny per month on a home with taxable value of $100,000.
I said, it all boils down to this: Do you support public education or not? It really is that simple. I looked at the mill levy request as an investment in the future.
The voters in Great Falls said a resounding “NO” to that question yesterday. The public schools mill levy failed pretty badly 55% to 45%. There were 17,319 votes cast for a 48% voter turnout, which is shameful.
Of course, the folks who opposed the levy had to gloat just a little with this victory. Their victory over children must seem really sweet. The anti-levy folks probably spent a lot more money opposing the levy with ads and glossy fliers in the local newspaper than they would have likely spent if the levy had passed.
During the time leading up to the election, we found out that “Great Falls spends the lowest per student of all AA districts.” If you are not from around these parts, the “AA districts” are the larger cities in Montana. These cities are always in competition for businesses that are looking to locate in the state. The non-support of public education will cast a negative light on Great Falls – especially in the business world.
The folks in Great Falls are probably a little wary about their tax money being spent as past leaders in the city government blew a few million tax dollars on an adventure into the world of electricity.
Sadly, when we see levy requests fail we might end up seeing cuts made to programs that help low-income children – those who can’t afford to participate in these programs if the schools do not provide them. It could also affect safety and that’s not good in this day and age.
Life goes on – school bells will still ring in August…
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
― Nelson Mandela
I’m on Twitter @TheWesternWord
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The Western Word 
Has it ever occurred to you that the behavior of some the district administration might have something to do with the loss of the levy? We’re talking about cover ups, poor communication, and arrogance beyond words. Think about it, like $12.00 a year(not a month, a year) increase on a $100.000 home? There’s more going on here than voters proclaiming no more taxes.
The reason opportunities don’t come to Great Falls has nothing to do with the schools, but good ole boys who already own businesses fighting to keep other businesses from coming in. Billings, Butte, Missoula and even Helena have all had booms and they had nothing to do with the schools. The school bells will ring in August, and guess what, the kids will continue to learn just as much and just as well with out a levy. The people who will be disappointed the most will be some of the wealthy district administrators who didn’t get a raise.
Graham – Thanks for commenting. -JmB